El Paso Parks and Rec prepares to resume adult athletic leagues
EL PASO, Texas -- Youth athletic leagues in El Paso resumed action this past Monday with no major incident, adult leagues are scheduled to do the same this weekend.
"They understand we need to follow the rules of the local county and state directive and of course with our local health director we want to make sure we are following the guidelines so that we can continue to play," Hawk Scott, the City of El Paso Parks and Recreation manager said.
Officials with the city are optimistic that resuming adult play will be unproblematic, if they can get all the participants' cooperation.
During youth games, parents are allowed to be spectators as their children play. But that will be one of the biggest differences between youth sports and adult sports.
"We are going to start off with no spectators. To start off doesn't mean we'll do it all season as we are still in this pandemic, but as our season goes we'll evaluate how it goes for adult leagues - though it'll just be coaches and players," Scott said.
The Parks and Rec department will be resuming the softball season first this weekend, followed by indoor sports including basketball and volleyball. While no spectators are allowed at the adult league games, spectators will be heavily limited during indoor competition for children.
"We have a barrier that comes down that splits it into two courts. What we are doing this year, we are using more gyms and we are taking away the divider and we are playing on the main floor. For our youth on that one, we are only allowing one parent so we don't have that overcrowding.
The Parks and Rec department will also be scattering teams across different fields when it comes to game day. Multiple games will not be happening on fields immediately next to each other.
Crews will also be fogging down facilities between games to ensure they are clean for the next teams. Lastly, hand sanitizing stations will be laid out across the facilities.
All participants are asked to abide by CDC guidelines and wear their mask in situations where they cannot practice social distancing, unless they are actively participating in a sporting event.
